


Look At The Wonderful Mess That We Made

by tehfanglyfish



Category: Merlin (TV), 全职高手 | The King's Avatar (Live Action TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And Playing Glory, Arthur is back, Bingo Square Said Sports, But Esports Are Sports, But In A Way They Do, Crossover, Getting Together, I Was Thinking These Worlds Shouldn't Fit Together, M/M, Post-Canon, What Was I Thinking?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29845350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: Merlin couldn’t say what surprised him more – Arthur’s rapid mastery of modern technology or the fact that he’d joined a professional esports team three months after touching a keyboard for the first time.Or… the King’s Avatar-BBC Merlin Crossover fic that absolutely no one anywhere ever asked for.
Relationships: Gāo Yīngjié/Qiáo Yīfān, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 37
Collections: Merlin Bingo





	Look At The Wonderful Mess That We Made

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jenwryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenwryn/gifts).



> For jenwryn. 
> 
> Do you want this? Nope. Do you need this? Not at all. Do you deserve this? Oh hell no! But here it is anyway after weeks of bouncing around in my head. I would blame you for making me cry over a stupid esports show, but you deserve no blame for this. If nothing else, I hope it makes you smile <3
> 
> Title shamelessly stolen from Bastille.
> 
> Merlin Bingo mods are the best mods!

“You’ve been working too hard, Merlin. You deserve some time off.”

Merlin began to laugh, causing him to almost choke on the food he’d been chewing. Arthur hurried over to deliver a few hard slaps on his back. Only when Merlin began to protest being hit did Arthur seem satisfied to return to his seat across the table.

“I don’t know what was so funny,” Arthur muttered as he resumed eating.

“Just the fact that it took you fifteen hundred years to get around to giving me a day off. Not that it matters as I have a new employer now, one that…”

“Recognizes you’ve been putting in extra hours lately wants you to take a break. I called the clinic this morning and Dr. Green said…”

“You called?” Merlin did not like the sound of that. “Arthur, we’ve talked about boundaries and how you can’t just…”

“Your colleagues worry that you’re overworking yourself. Dr. Green said I was a caring partner for intervening.”

“To which you replied that we aren’t together, not like _that_.”

Ever since Arthur stepped out of the Lake of Avalon about a year prior, Merlin had fought a losing battle against his coworkers’ gossip. People let friends live with them all the time without it meaning that they were lovers, so why did the clinic staff automatically assume that he and Arthur were together?

Yes, he’d called out for the first and only time when Arthur returned, explaining that he needed to catch up with someone he thought he’d lost forever. It didn’t help that Arthur frequently called the clinic to ask Merlin about the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner, or the stove. Doting lover was a more reasonable assumption than medieval king adjusting to modern living.

If Merlin secretly wished for the rumors to be true, well, that was his own business. But Arthur had never given a sign that he was interested in Merlin, and besides, there were probably some serious ethical considerations to pursuing someone so dependent on Merlin as Arthur was. Still, it stung a little to hear casual references at work to a relationship Merlin had wanted for centuries but would likely never have.

“I said no such thing,” Arthur replied, “because having them believe otherwise worked to my advantage. You have the next three weeks off.”

“Three weeks?” Merlin was genuinely surprised. “That’s generous.”

“I thought so, but Dr. Green insisted after I explained I was taking you abroad.”

“Where to abroad?” Merlin asked though he could already guess the answer. “France? America? Australia?”

“I was thinking China.”

“Ah. So we’ll be sightseeing in an internet cafe.” Merlin tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

“And a tournament arena,” Arthur added, “but only for the final match and then we can go wherever you want, I promise. You do deserve time off Merlin. You’ve done so much for others, so much for me. You should get away for a while.”

He gave a soft smile and Merlin tried not to melt.

“Fine. But I’m holding you to your promise. I’m not going halfway around the world just to watch people play Glory. If that’s all you’re doing, you can go alone.”

There was no way he would let Arthur travel that far by himself, but it still felt good to say it.

“Great! I’ll let the others know – they all want to meet you. I swear you’ll have a good time. Thank you, Merlin. Now go get packed. We fly out tomorrow.”

★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ﾟ･: *:･｡★

Centuries of waiting left Merlin with ample time to wonder what Arthur might do with his life when he returned from the Sidhe. Merlin imagined countless possibilities, adjusting his list as the world changed around him – serving in government, playing football, even modeling all seemed like reasonable possibilities.

Instead, Arthur immersed himself in online life, taking to the internet much faster than Merlin had done. He couldn’t say what surprised him more – Arthur’s rapid mastery of technology or the fact that he’d joined a professional esports team three months after touching a keyboard for the first time.

“I’m not officially on the team,” Arthur finally confessed when Merlin asked about the increasing time he spent online. “I’m too slow with a mouse to play competitively, but I do understand strategy. Speaking of which, I need that language spell you told me about. The online chat translations are imprecise, and it would be better if I could talk to them.”

Merlin shook his head and cast the spell, grateful that Arthur had easily come to accept his magic in this new life they shared together, even if he could be demanding about it sometimes.

“Thanks. Give me a few hours then we can watch something together.” Arthur put on his headset and began an intense discussion in Mandarin. Merlin lingered in the doorway to Arthur’s room, listening. To hear him going on about lances and swords, armor and battle tactics, made the past feel less distant.

And it kept Arthur occupied. Maybe he wasn’t an official member, but he might as well be the way Merlin saw it. Arthur had to be putting in as many hours helping Team Happy as Merlin logged at the clinic where he worked as a physician.

“Team Happy?” he asked one night. “I can understand why you chose a game called Glory, but…”

“Why not Team Happy?”

“I don’t know, it sounds like something you’d have made fun of back in Camelot.”

“That was before Camlann.”

Then Merlin had to resist the urge to pull Arthur into his arms. Arthur had never cared for hugs; he’d always been resistant in the past and that discomfort seemed to carry over into the present, as he froze on the few occasions when Merlin’s body took over, embracing Arthur before he could catch himself.

“Well, Team Happy is lucky to have you,” Merlin said instead. “You always were brilliant at strategy.”

Arthur gave him a smile that made it even harder to fight off the urge to hug him and Merlin had to look away.

Soon they fell into a comfortable routine, Arthur less restless as he spent his days (which often began earlier or ended later than Merlin’s thanks to differences in time zones) in the company of Team Happy while Merlin was at work, coming together to share meals at night.

In many ways it was a relief to Merlin – having Arthur all to himself was fun in his fantasies, but not a healthy arrangement in reality. Arthur needed other friends and he was making them. Increasingly Merlin heard as much about the personal lives of Team Happy as he did Glory tactics.

“Ye Xiu is working things out with his father,” Arthur explained on a walk through the park. “I told him about Uther – I left some bits out, don’t look at me like that – and how he treated Morgana and me. I think it helped him to have someone else acknowledge how hard it can be to do what’s right when it leaves you at odds with your family.”

Chen Guo was relieved that the internet cafe was on better financial footing, thanks in part to Luo Ji’s analysis of her account books. Baozi went with Wei Chen to get the tattoo he’d wanted for ages. Apparently it was easier with moral support.

“And Qiao Yifan finally got brave enough to ask out a player from Tiny Herb,” Arthur told Merlin a month later as they wandered through the supermarket. “Tang Rou said he’d been pining after Gao Yingjie for ages, but thought it was a one-sided attraction. It makes sense, I suppose, not wanting to complicate a friendship.”

There was something in Arthur’s tone that Merlin couldn’t quite place.

“That’s understandable,” Merlin said. He refused to look up and instead focused on the tomatoes he was wrangling into a bag. “If you love someone, the last thing you want to do is make them uncomfortable.”

“Exactly,” Arthur replied, taking a sudden interest in the carrots. “Especially if you already care a great deal for that person, if it’s someone you couldn’t bear to lose.”

Merlin froze, recalling a time when Arthur, on the run from Morgana, had once used those exact words to describe their friendship. Was it an accident or did Arthur remember as well? And if he did, what did that mean for them?

“Although,” Merlin began, channeling all of the courage he could muster, “if a friendship is strong enough, it shouldn’t matter. I doubt Qiao Yifan wanted to lose his friend, but he finally spoke up anyway. I don’t know as much about Gao Yingjie, but Qiao Yifan wouldn’t fall for someone who would be an ass about unrequited feelings. He took a risk and look at where it got them.”

Merlin heard Arthur take a deep breath, then swallow hard. “Merlin, I…”

“Excuse me,” a woman interrupted, “but if you’re done, can you move? Other people need tomatoes too.”

Whatever Arthur had been about to say got lost as they were shuffled out of the way. Merlin tried not to think about it too much. It was likely nothing more than wishful thinking on his part.

★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ﾟ･: *:･｡★

That conversation was replaying in Merlin’s mind three months later as he stood in front of Happy Internet Cafe, clinging to his luggage. They’d gone straight from the airport, Arthur growing more nervous the longer they were in the cab.

“And you’re sure we don’t need a hotel room?” Merlin had asked.

“They have plenty of room for us at their house. If they let us stay.”

“ _If_? You said…”

“They will. It’s going to be fine. I hope.” Then Arthur fell silent for the rest of the ride.

When they finally reached their destination, Arthur caught Merlin’s sleeve before he could walk through the entrance.

“Before we go in, I need to tell you something,” Arthur said, his voice low. “I’ve been keeping something from you, something important. I’ve been trying to find the right time to tell you, but… Anyway, I hope it doesn’t complicate things between us.”

Merlin held his breath, waiting for Arthur to pour out a love confession he’d dreamed about for centuries.

“I told Team Happy you’re a warlock.”

“Arthur, I lo- wait, what?”

“You know about the trouble with Wei Chen’s wrist. Well, it’s worse than we thought. He tried to hide it, but on Friday he couldn’t play. He’s been on mandatory rest, but I don’t think he’ll be ready for Saturday’s match.”

“And what does that have to do with me being a warlock?”

Merlin knew he sounded bitter. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Wei Chen or Team Happy. But he was jetlagged and still reeling from the disappointment of Arthur’s confession.

“Wei Chen plays a warlock. I promised Ye Xiu I knew a warlock who could help.”

“Arthur, you didn’t! You know I’m no good at Glory. The few times I tried to play…”

“Never mind how you play. Your magic…”

“Doesn’t win tournaments.”

“Yes. It does. If you use it the right way. Merlin, we both know why you’ve been so successful as a physician. I’m not saying that you didn’t work hard to make it through medical school, but there’s another reason why patients get referred to your clinic when other doctors can’t help them.”

It was true that Merlin had a reputation for treating challenging cases. Avalon had one of the highest life expectancies in all of Wales. Namely because Merlin had made it a point after Camlann to master every healing spell he could, as a way of making up for the time when, even with all his magic, he’d been unable to save Arthur.

“You want me to heal Wei Chen.”

“I do.”

“And how will we explain that?”

“I don’t know. You’ll think of something.”

Merlin sighed but followed Arthur through the door.

★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ﾟ･: *:･｡★

Half an hour later, Merlin found himself sitting in Team Happy’s conference room, listening to a strained conversation.

“You didn’t bring a replacement.” Ye Xiu said it more as a statement than a question. That much had become clear the moment Wei Chen had asked Merlin about his account.

“I did not.”

“No one’s heard of a warlock called Emrys,” Qiao Yifan said. “He doesn’t exist, does he?”

“Oh, he’s very real,” Arthur said, “he just doesn’t play Glory.”

“But we only have two days and you promised…”

“I promised you would have a warlock for Saturday, and you will. It just won’t be Emrys.”

“Then who will it be?” Wei Chen asked.

“You. If you trust me. And him.” Arthur nodded toward Merlin.

Merlin had never liked being the center of attention. But once again Arthur needed saving, this time from himself, and Merlin wasn’t going to let him down.

“What my dear clotpole of a friend is trying to tell you,” Merlin said, “is… actually, it might be better if I showed you.”

They couldn’t be faulted for their looks of skepticism – Merlin wouldn’t have believed him either if he’d been in their position. Magic was, as far as the modern world was concerned, something relegated to fantasy novels or video games. It made sense that Chen Guo believed he’d hidden the flowers he gave her up his sleeve and that Wei Chen thought his glowing eyes were a trick pulled off with contact lenses.

The butterflies, though, weren’t so easily dismissed.

Wei Chen’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. The expression on Ye Xiu’s face was thoughtful, but not unkind.

“You _are_ a warlock.” Qiao Yifan stared in wonder at the blue wings fluttering around the room. Hesitantly, he stretched out his hand, beaming when one settled in his palm.

“How much do you charge?” Chen Guo asked.

Merlin expected questions, but not that one. “I… um… nothing. Not ever for healing.”

That seemed to be all it took to win Chen Guo over to Arthur’s plan. Ye Xiu might have been Happy’s captain, but Merlin recognized its manager as a force to be reckoned with.

“I don’t know,” Wei Chen began.

“I do,” Chen Guo cut him off. “Get over here and let Merlin heal you.”

Wei Chen scowled at her, but did as he was told.

“Good boy,” she smirked.

Merlin bit back a smile. There was something between them, something they might not yet have acknowledged, but it was there.

“This may feel a little strange,” Merlin said as he wrapped his hands around Wei Chen’s wrist.

The room fell silent, save for Merlin’s voice, murmuring the incantation. He tried to ignore the eyes locked on him and instead focus on directing his magic where it needed to go. Despite the extensive damage and scarring, it didn’t take long – less than a minute and Merlin was finished.

“There,” he said as he released Wei Chen. “Good as new.”

“Better than,” Wei Chen replied, stretching and twisting his wrist.

“Thank you,” Ye Xiu said. “If there’s anything we can do for you…”

“Just… don’t tell anyone, not that they’d believe you anyway. And win this Saturday. I don’t know that I can handle the next two weeks with a sulking Arthur.”

“Which means Wei Chen needs to get back to training,” Chen Guo said. “Lazy warlock.”

“I’ll have you know,” Wei Chen began as he followed her out of the room, “that I contribute the most of…”

Ye Xiu shrugged and smiled, then rolled his chair close to Arthur’s so they could discuss strategy.

“Do you play Glory?” Qiao Yifan asked. “For fun, I mean.”

“No,” Merlin said. “Arthur tried to get me into it, but it was a disaster.”

“Then let’s get a tea. They’re going to be talking for ages and there’s something more important that needs my attention.

It was only when they were halfway down the stairs to the building’s main floor of that Merlin realized Qiao Yifan had more on his mind than tea.

“You should tell him.” Qiao Yifan kept his voice low. “You wouldn’t have let him put you on the spot like that if you didn’t love him. I know it’s scary, but you have nothing to worry about. He never shuts up about you in chat – your cooking, how you make him laugh, your smile - and the way he looked at you when you were healing Wei Chen… I promise it’s worth it to take the risk.”

“I’ll think about it,” Merlin said. That much was true. He _would_ think about it. “But that’s enough about me and Arthur. I want to know more about Gao Yingjie.”

★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ﾟ･: *:･｡★

The next few days were not how Merlin envisioned his first holiday with Arthur.

For one thing, the sleeping arrangements were… unexpected.

“Bunkbeds?” he asked when Baozi showed them to the room they would be sharing with several others.

“What’s wrong with bunkbeds?” Baozi sounded offended.

“Nothing. Just scared I’ll out,” Merlin lied, not wanting to elaborate on a daydream involving Arthur and an overbooked hotel with only one bed left.

For another, he didn’t get much time with Arthur. True, they were often in the same room, but it was rare that Arthur said anything that wasn’t related to strategy. With everyone else focused on training, Merlin made himself useful retrieving drinks and snacks, doing his best to feign interest in Glory, until Qiao Yifan drafted someone to take Merlin sightseeing.

Gao Yingjie was not Arthur, but he was nice and easy to talk to, though most of their conversations ended up focused on Qiao Yifan. After two days of touring the city together, Merlin was pretty sure he’d made a new friend.

Saturday he sat beside Arthur in the tournament arena, watching as Happy battled it out against Blue Rain. The match was close and if during a very tense moment, he happened to squeeze Arthur’s hand, well, Arthur didn’t seem to mind, gripping back just as tightly.

Merlin had never been that taken with Glory apart from what it meant to Arthur. But when Team Happy won, he found himself cheering as loud as everyone else. After a few days in their company, Merlin understood why Arthur cared so much for this group he’d become part of. In a way, their rise to prominence, Yi Xiu building his team from players who would have been overlooked by others, reminded Merlin of Arthur and his knights. This likely wouldn’t be the only match he attended in person.

And then there was the afterparty. Standing under the night sky on the rooftop of the internet cafe, Merlin looked out at the city skyline, so different from home. While waiting for Arthur, he’d rarely ventured far from Avalon. This trip marked the farthest he’d traveled in his exceptionally long life. And yet he didn’t feel homesick. Maybe that was because home wasn’t so much a place as it was a person. He let his eyes wander back in the crowd, stealing a glimpse at Arthur.

It was good to see him socializing with others, far less reserved than he was when they went for a night out in Avalon. Maybe it was because of how well he knew Team Happy or maybe it was because the setting was so far from their tragedy-ridden past. Regardless of the reason, Arthur was smiling and laughing, reminding Merlin of how he had been so long ago, back when they’d first met.

“Did you see how I owned Yu Wenzhou?” Wei Chen draped an arm around Merlin’s shoulder. “Finally got him back after all these years.”

“Only because of Merlin,” Chen Guo said. “By yourself you’d never have…”

“By myself I would have owned Blue Rain and Happy together. I could solo them all because I am the best warlock to ever play Glory.”

“More like the drunkest warlock. I should tell Ye Xiu to replace you with Merlin. At least he pulls his weight.”

Wei Chen hadn’t let go of Merlin, but he was leaning closer toward Chen Guo the longer the argument progressed. Chen Guo’s eyes were locked on his and her tiny upturn of a smile gave Merlin the distinct impression that this bickering was about to lead to a different sort of conversation, one involving lips, yes, but not words.

“I… Arthur needs me,” Merlin said, extracting himself from Wei Chen’s arm. They paid him no mind.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he heard Wei Chen saying. “But not here. We should go inside.”

If all went well, Merlin doubted he’d see them again before morning. Watching them walk off, he felt the urge to be next to Arthur.

He navigated his way through the revelers, making only enough conversation to be polite.

“Hi,” Merlin said when he finally reached Arthur.

“There you are! Dance with me.”

Arthur had been drinking. He must have been, because there was no way he would have pulled Merlin so close that his breath would ghost along Merlin’s face. But if Arthur had been drinking, why didn’t he smell of alcohol?

Merlin decided not to worry about it and instead tried to match Arthur’s steps, tripping over his own feet in the process. Fortunately, enthusiasm seemed to be more important than technique at this celebration.

Some people were ignoring the music entirely, Merlin realized, as he caught a glimpse of Qiao Yifan and Gao Yingjie, wrapped up in each other’s arms, swaying softly despite the upbeat pop song blasting from the speakers.

“They look happy.” Merlin’s lips were practically touching Arthur’s ear to make his voice heard above the music.

“Mhmm.” Rather than elaborating, Arthur maneuvered Merlin toward the edge of the crowd.

Merlin let out a sigh, relieved to have a moment alone with Arthur after a week spent in the company of the team.

“It’s a beautiful night,” he said. They’d reached the railing at the edge of the rooftop, and though Arthur had stopped dancing, he hadn’t let go of Merlin.

“Not as beautiful as you.” The words were so soft that Merlin almost missed them.

Arthur went rigid in Merlin’s arms. He’d always been reserved when it came to expressing his feelings – that was something that hadn’t changed when he stepped into the modern world. It had to be terrifying to let even such a small admission slip.

Merlin knew he needed to say something, to do something, before Arthur panicked and tried to walk it back or wander off. But he’d been caught off guard. While he dreamed countless times of Arthur expressing an interest in him, now that it was actually happening, he couldn’t think of what to do.

In the distance, he saw Qiao Yifan, still clinging to Gao Yingjie, kissing him senseless. As they broke apart for air, Qiao Yifan caught Merlin’s eye and, cheeks still flushed, gave him a wide smile.

That was enough to push Merlin out of his stupor. He’d waited fifteen hundred years to kiss Arthur. Never once had he imagined that the first time he did so would be on the roof of an internet cafe in China at a party celebrating an esports team’s tournament win.

And yet here he was, pressing his lips to Arthur’s.

Arthur didn’t move - Merlin wasn’t even sure that he was breathing. Had he made a horrible miscalculation? He was about to pull back when Arthur’s hold on him tightened, refusing to let Merlin slip away.

Then Arthur was kissing him back, hesitantly, as if _he_ was the one who’d made a move without asking. Merlin did his best to reassure Arthur, parting his lips to let Arthur in, humming out encouragement as Arthur’s hesitancy morphed into something hungry and greedy.

Merlin forgot about the party still in full swing behind them. He forgot about keeping secrets and the toll of years spent waiting. None of that mattered. Not now, with Arthur kissing him like he’d been wanting this for as long as Merlin had. 

It was only when the nearby voices grew louder, the random sounds of the celebration morphing into a chorus of raucous cheers and pointed commentary that Merlin broke away.

“Do you see that? Look at where his hand is. Shameless! Wei Chen said Ye Xiu found someone with a magic touch to help him, but I didn’t think he meant _that_ kind of touch. Oh! I bet that’s why Wei Chen was able to beat you today. Before the match he...”

“Shaotian.” The voice was stern but affectionate.

“It’s possible we might have attracted some attention,” Merlin said, burying his face in Arthur’s shoulder.

“I think you’re right. And since Blue Rain showed up to crash the party, we should probably go say hello.”

“Do we have to? Because I think I’m about to die from mortification.”

“Well, it would be the polite thing to do. And then, if you’d like,” Arthur’s voice dropped, “maybe we could find place to spend the night that doesn’t involve bunkbeds. We still have two weeks and I hear there’s a nice hotel not far from here that…”

“You know, I’ve heard so much about Huang Shaotian this week, I’ve been dying to meet him.”

And with that, Merlin led Arthur into the throng of the strange esports family that was rapidly becoming his own.


End file.
